Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Engineered T Cells for Immunotherapy of Cancer

Abstract EN

CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes are powerful components of adaptive immunity, which essentially contribute to the elimination of tumors.

Due to their cytotoxic capacity, T cells emerged as attractive candidates for specific immunotherapy of cancer.

A promising approach is the genetic modification of T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs).

First generation CARs consist of a binding moiety specifically recognizing a tumor cell surface antigen and a lymphocyte activating signaling chain.

The CAR-mediated recognition induces cytokine production and tumor-directed cytotoxicity of T cells.

Second and third generation CARs include signal sequences from various costimulatory molecules resulting in enhanced T-cell persistence and sustained antitumor reaction.

Clinical trials revealed that the adoptive transfer of T cells engineered with first generation CARs represents a feasible concept for the induction of clinical responses in some tumor patients.

However, further improvement is required, which may be achieved by second or third generation CAR-engrafted T cells.